When a hurricane or tropical storm is looming, you need to be worrying about your loved ones evacuating, not your boat. Here are some tips to be prepared now.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- When a tropical storm or hurricane is threatening the area, it's already too late to be thinking about what to do with your boat, according to Rusty Gardner with the group Florida By Water.

"I think if we were to have a hurricane here the amount of boat traffic you would see in the area would be huge," Gardner said. "I think the marinas would be overrun with people trying to get their boats or get them secure."

He says marinas in the area are already filling up with people dry storing their boats, so he says you need to go ahead and reach out to one if you're planning on storing your boat there during a storm.

"You have to make these arrangements ahead of time," he said. "Like right now."

He says if a marina isn't available, then the garage at your house is the next best place.

He says your cars can handle riding out a storm better than your boat can.

If a garage isn't an option, he has some unique advice for what to do during a storm.

"Put your plugs in the boat and fill it with water," he said the added weight will keep it from becoming a projectile in 100 mph or greater winds. "You'd also have fresh water in a worst case scenario after a storm too."

He said you should let the air out of your boat trailer's tires as well.

He says it's been so long since this area has taken a direct hit from a storm, that many boat owners have gotten complacent with their plans.

"I think it'll be at a disaster level," he said. "I don't think people believe a storm will actually hit Jacksonville."